Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to (a) help tackle the disparity between house prices and average earnings and (b) ensure that affordable housing is accessible to (i) first-time buyers and (ii) low-income families.

The government’s Plan for Change includes an ambitious milestone of delivering 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament. We are also committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. This government will work in partnership with councils, housing associations and the wider sector to build their capacity and ensure we hit our ambitious target to build the homes Britain needs.

At the Budget on 30 October, the Chancellor announced a cash injection of £500 million to the Affordable Homes Programme. This is due to deliver up to 5,000 additional affordable homes, with bidding already open to local authorities and other registered providers of social housing.

We will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.

The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership. In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government has committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme to support those first-time buyers who struggle to save for a large deposit.